Sai Naw Kham ( my, နော်ခမ်း; shn, ၼေႃႇၶမ်း; also spelled Nor Kham; 8 November 1969 – 1 March 2013) was an ethnic Shan associate of the Chinese drug trafficker
Khun Sa
Chinese: Chang Chi-fu ()
, other_name = th, จันทร์ จางตระกูล (Chan Changtrakul); Tun Sa; U Htet Aung
, image = Khun Sa (9to12).jpg
, alt =
, caption = Khun Sa at his jungle headquarters ...
who operated in the
Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
, a major drugs-smuggling area where the borders of Burma,
Laos and
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
converge.
He was executed for alleged involvement in the
killing of 13 Chinese sailors.
Excessive media coverage and live broadcast of the execution were seen in Myanmar as a Chinese attempt to frame the ethnic Shans and the Burmese for the drug problems; China had previously allowed drug traffickers like
Pheung Kya-shin
Pheung Kya-shin (; my, ဖုန်းကြားရှင်; 5 February 1931 – 16 February 2022) was the chairman of the Kokang Special Region in Myanmar (Burma) and the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Bi ...
to roam free in China. Since the KMT retreated to Burma in the early 1950s, ethnic Chinese drug lords have set up a drug empire in the Golden Triangle, taking advantage of their
global networks, which the natives lacked. Profits from the drug trade have allowed the Chinese to expand and replace the native populations. As a result, parts of northern Myanmar and the city of Mandalay have become effectively sinicized.
Background
Naw Kham was formerly a subordinate associate of
Khun Sa
Chinese: Chang Chi-fu ()
, other_name = th, จันทร์ จางตระกูล (Chan Changtrakul); Tun Sa; U Htet Aung
, image = Khun Sa (9to12).jpg
, alt =
, caption = Khun Sa at his jungle headquarters ...
, a major ethnic Chinese drug lord who surrendered to the Burmese government in 1996 in exchange for amnesty.
Naw's gang numbered in the hundreds and included members of Khun Sa's former paramilitary forces, along with ethnic rebels.
At its height, Naw Kham's militia, the Hawngleuk Militia had 100 members and was based out of
Tachileik
Tachileik (also spelt Tachilek; my, တာချီလိတ်, ; shn, တႃႈၶီႈလဵၵ်း, ; th, ท่าขี้เหล็ก, , ), is a border town in the Shan State of eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Ta ...
, near the Thai-Burmese border.
It was composed of guerillas from
Shan State
Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ( ...
ethnic minorities such as the
Shan,
Wa,
Lahu,
Kachin and
Palaung. The militia was involved in trafficking of
methamphetamine and
heroin, kidnapping, murder, racketeering, and banditry in the
Mekong River
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
area.
In custody
After the
Mekong River massacre
The Mekong River massacre occurred on the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle region on the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. All 13 crew members on t ...
in October 2011 and subsequent backlash from the Chinese, Laotian officials arrested Naw Kham and extradited him to China on 10 May 2012.
Then in the July 2012 raids of Naw Kham's militia bases, Burmese authorities seized over 600,000 methamphetamine pills and 120 bars of heroin.
Hunting for Naw Kham, the Chinese "special task group" has used new technologies such as the
Beidou System according to the
Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Public Security () is a government ministry of the People's Republic of China responsible for public and political security. It oversees more than 1.9 million of the country's law enforcement officers and as such the vast ma ...
. Because the gang's remote hiding area is difficult to reach, even a
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
"execution operation" was once proposed.
On 21 September 2012, Naw Kham pleaded guilty at the Intermediate People's Court in
Kunming,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
to the murders of thirteen Chinese sailors killed during the
Mekong River massacre
The Mekong River massacre occurred on the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle region on the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. All 13 crew members on t ...
. He and three of his subordinates were sentenced to death. On 26 December 2012, the Yunnan Higher Court rejected Naw Kham's appeals, upholding the death penalties.
Trial and execution
Naw Kham was executed by
lethal injection in
Kunming on 1 March 2013 together with his three subordinates: Hsang Kham from Thailand; Yi Lai, stateless; and Zha Xika, a Laotian.
Another two members of Naw Kham's gang, identified as Zha Bo and Zha Tuobo, received a
death sentence with reprieve
Death with reprieve (, abbr.: ) is a criminal punishment found in the law of the People's Republic of China. According to the criminal law chapter 5 (death penalty), sections 48, 50 and 51, it gives the death row inmate a two-year suspended sent ...
and eight years
in prison, respectively.
References
{{Authority control
People from Shan State
1969 births
Burmese drug traffickers
Burmese people of Shan descent
Burmese people executed abroad
2013 deaths
21st-century executions by China
People executed by China by lethal injection
People executed for murder